Hector Bellerin won’t be available for Real Betis’ key match against Atletico Madrid this weekend, after presumably suffering a training injury.

Real Betis posted their squad list for Sunday’s match against Atletico Madrid on Saturday, and Hector Bellerin was a notable absentee.

Manuel Pellegrini told his pre-game press conference that Bellerin was “ruled out” of the match, along with a few other injury sufferers.

The injury must have occurred in training, as Bellerin was on the bench for the full 90 minutes against Rayo Vallecano on Thursday, having played the entire previous match against Sevilla FC. There was no hint of an issue going into the weekend.

Bellerin has had a busy enough season so far, hitting 26 appearances in all competitions.

It’s also been a successful campaign for him and the team, breaking into the top four in La Liga, reaching the final of the Copa del Rey, and reaching the last-16 in the Europa League.

The obvious disappointment is that Real Betis’ primary top-four rivals are arguably Atletico Madrid, so this was a key game for their season. Bellerin will have to hope his teammates can get the job done without him.